Wonderful Christmas Treats

I'm having the best Christmas ever! My students and i had a blast baking cupcakes, Gingerbread Houses and cookies...
Let the Pictures do the talking!

My Winter Gingerbread Cottage


A Sweet Cottage by Winnie


'Fun Gingerbread House' by Salwiyah



Priscilla looking like a pro... It's hard work to build a 'house' in 2 hours...


My gingerbread man and ladies (nope, they didnt run away...)



Cupcake Ladies

Checkout my student's cupcakes. Don't they look too pretty to eat!?

These pretty cupcakes are made by Beatrice, my youngest student so far..She's only 11!!

The Christmas tree cupcake is made by placing an inverted ice ceam cone

Zesty melt-in-your-mouth cookies

Designer Cookies by my students

(It's their 1st time baking these cookies, looks like i'm facing some competition here...)

Just showcasing some 'Tools of the Trade'

Colourful Royal Icing

Merry Christmas and New Year!

God Bless all with Joy, Love, Peace and many Sweet treats to come!

Recipe of Fruitcake ‘Delite’

Recipe featured in MYB on 19 Dec07


This recipe is take a little more effort to bake but it's really worth it!
Yield 9 inch loaf tin

I love baking this lite fruit cakes as a Christmas gift for my love ones. Traditionally, fruitcakes are very rich and dense cakes made with lots of butter, sugar, eggs and dried mixed fruits. At 300-500 calories a slice, it is a very 'naughty' cake. I'm so glad i have created a lighter version by reducing the amount of sugar, eggs and sweet dried fruits. Instead of the usual blend of mixed fruits, i have my own medley of dried fruits such as apricots, raisins and cranberries plus some walnuts. One other trick here is to whisk up a meringue and fold into the cake mixture at the last step. The result is a lovely light fruitcake that’s bursting with fruity fragrance and bound to delight till the last bite!


To make it a great Christmas gift,
wrap your fruit cake in dolly paper
for a simple and elegant look

A close up look

These beauties just came out of the oven




Tanning in process




Ready to bake




Folding in egg white meringe is the key to a fluffy & light cake



Ingredients:
40g Raisin
40g Dried cranberry
40g Dried apricot (sliced thinly)
Juice and zest from half an orange
85g unsalted butter (at room temp)
40g Sugar
5 Egg yolk
5 Egg white
90g Sugar
170g Cake Flour (sifted)
1/4 (Quater) teaspoon Baking powder
60g Walnut (coarsely chopped)




Method
1. Soak dried fruits and zest in orange juice for about 1 hour

2. Pre-heat oven to 175°C and line the bottom of the loaf tin with grease-proof paper

3. Cream butter and sugar until white and creamy. Add yolks one at a time(make sure each yolk is well incorporated before adding the next one) and fold in the dried fruits

4. Put flour, baking powder and walnuts in a bowl

5. Whisk egg whites and 90g of sugar until firm peak stage (meringue)

6. Gently fold in flour mixture and meringue alternately into the creamed mixture. Pour into loaf tin and bake for 35 to 45 mins (until cake turns golden brown



Tip:
Create your own unique fruitcake by concocting your own medley of dried fruits such as dried apples, figs or prunes.

January's baking workshops schedule

After all that busy Christmas feasting, we'll need to give our stomach a 'break' and get ready for CNY and Valentines!
January's baking workshops will feature 'deliteful' recipes and CNY goodies!

‘De-liteful’ Bakes - 5th (Sat) Time: 2pm ( approx 2.5 hrs )
(i) Home-made muesli bar
(ii) Fresh mango yoghurt parfait
(iii) Camomile Panna cotta (Italian dessert)
The nutritious muesli bars are ideal snack (keeps you from biting into other naughty stuff) or a ‘quickfix-breakfast’ item. Parfait and Panna cotta are lite soulful desserts that will still give you bliss with every mouthful.

Make your own Pasta and Ravioli : 11th (Fri) Time: 7pm (approx 2 hours)
(Demo workshop with dinner & drinks)
(i) Basic Pasta dough
(ii) Home-made spaghetti
(iii) Home-made cheese ravioli
It takes less than 30 minutes to make your own pasta. After you learn this basic recipe, you’ll able to churn out all sorts of beautiful pasta from your very own kitchen. Hand-made pasta taste much better! We’ll have the fresh pasta and my home-made pasta sauce for dinner. Can’t get any fresher than that!
*Special Couple's Pasta and Ravioli workshop (with dinner, wine and Chocolate fondue) on 18th (Fri) Time: 7pm (approx 2hrs)

Low-fat Fruit Tarts and Rolls - 12th (Sat) Time: 10.45am (approx 2.5 hrs )
(basic hands-on workshop)
(i) Apple and cranberry filo tart
(ii) Caramelized banana walnut filo roll
(iii) Fresh crème anglaise (hot vanilla sauce)
Tarts made from puff pastry are often high in fat, filo pastry has no trans fat and up to 20 times less fat than puff pastry. The filo pastry is so easy to handle and we’ll be enjoying some perfect puffs in no time. Creme anglaise sauce is simply the ‘icing’ on the tarts/rolls.

Treats For Kids - 19th (Sat) Time: 2pm (approx 2.5 hrs)
(A workshop for Moms)
(i) 10 minute info talk on ‘Fundamentals of Children’s nutrition’
(ii) Raisin scone, Cranberry and Walnut scone, Chocolate chip scone
(iii) Banana and Chocolate chip Bread and butter pudding + 1 variation
In this workshop i will be featuring recipes that contains calcium, a mineral needed for your child’s bone health n growth. Women and children often don't consume enough calcium in their diet. Learn 2 simple recipes to help boost you and your kid’s calcium intake. It's a perfect treat for mums and growing children!

The “Dark side”- For Chocolate Lovers: 24th (Thur) Time: 7pm(approx 2 hrs) (basic hands-on workshop)
(i) Chocolate molten cake
(ii) Fruit and Nut rocky road + 1 variation
Chocolate molten cake needs no introduction. The sight of chocolate oozing out of the cake will melt any cake lover’s heart. The fruit and nut rocky road is a simple chocolate bar that you can make at home. It’s a perfect party nibble or a sweet gift for friends. All u need is awesome dark chocolate and some sweet ‘accompliments’.


CNY Cookie Treats - 26th (Sat) Time: 10.45am(approx 2.5 hrs)
(Festive hands-on workshop)
(i) Pineapple tart ‘delite’
(ii) Home-made pineapple tart filling
(iii) Strawberry Jam drop cookie
(iv) Marmalade jam drop cookie
We’ll be having fun baking these sugar-reduced cookies. Pineapple tarts are the absolute festive favourite. I’ll show you how easy it is to cook your very own fresh and not-too-sweet pineapple filling (no sweet filling that sticks to your teeth!) If you're looking for new goodies to enjoy this year, the Jam drop cookies are gonna to be a hit!


Decadent Mini Loaf Cakes - 31st (Thur) Time: 7pm(approx 2 hrs)
(basic level hands-on)
(i) Carrot & walnut loaf
(ii) Sweet potato & pecan loaf
(iii) Zesty cream cheese icing
These loaf cake recipes one of my favourite bakes. It’s absolutely yummy and not to mention gives a new meaning to eating vegetables...! You’ve gotta learn to make the icing that goes with this cake, it’s oh so important in bringing the cake to a ‘higher’ level. These treats are perfect for any time of the day, from morning tea to the evening slice!

Pls email me at sylvia_kang@hotmail.com to secure a seat!

'Huff and Puffs'!

Ready to bake puffs and eclairs


Stirring custards


An aromatherapy treatment; filling eclairs with luscious lavender custard



I named this Vanilla cream puff and Lavender éclair workshop ‘Huff and Puff’ because it reminds me of my intern days in Grand Hyatt’s pastry kitchen.

As a newbie, i was given ‘simple tasks’. One of my main duties for a couple of months was to make cream puffs & éclairs. Making hundreds and sometimes thousands of cream puffs/éclairs is a daily affair and i was soon weary of my ‘mundane task’. I huffed and puffed my way through the first few months of my internship... I was made a ‘puff expert’ through these training, I’m an one-women cream puff n éclair machine!

To get a perfect puff, the piping technique is crucial. A good puff has gotta to be hollow, crisp on the outside and moist inside It’s amazing how a thick gluey butter, flour and egg paste can puff up in less than 15 minutes in the oven.

The ‘proof’ here is also in the custard. Nowadays it’s hard to find good puffs with decent fresh custard. Many establishments use cheap instant custard, a pre-mix powder that requires a bit of mixing and some water... Instant custards often taste flat and have either too watery or hard texture. Making your own custard is a breeze. All u need is a few pantry items such as milk, sugar, custard powder and a natural favouring. In this workshop, i used vanilla pods and lavender flowers to impart flavour to my custards. Simply infuse the vanilla pod/ lavender flowers by boiling it with milk for a couple of minutes, let it stand and use this aromatic milk to make the custard. Try other flavours such as camomile, coffee or earl grey, the options are endless!

Oh one more important point, I've made healthier puffs and eclairs by using low-fat high calcium milk. Just so that we dont have to "Huff and Puff' in the gym the morning after! ;)
Enjoy!

Recipe Feature: Zesty Star Cookies (1st featured in 'Mind Your Body' 28 Nov 07)

'Cutting Stars'


Baked cookies ready for piping


Personalize cookies with words of blessing or your friend's initials



A heart warming hand-made gift for loved ones


This eggless cookie recipe is a keeper for any cookie lover. It’s amazing how 5 simple ingredients can be transformed into aromatic melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Baking healthier cookies can be a challenge since butter and sugar are the main reason why cookies are flavourful and crisp. The ‘power’ ingredient in this recipe is the zest of citrus fruits. Having reduced the fat and sugar in this recipe, i need the citrus zest to impart flavour and ensure each star cookie packs a ‘citrusy punch!
Another calorie saver tip here is to avoid coating the entire cookie with icing. Instead, pipe words or simple decorative designs to give the cookies a festive look!

Ingredient

100g Unsalted butter (at room temperature)
50g Icing sugar
150g Plain Flour (sifted)
100g Corn flour
2 pinches of Salt
Zest f 1 orange (finely chopped)
Zest of 1 lemon zest (finely chopped)
Optional:
Ready-made icing for decorating

Method
1) Pre-heat oven to 175°C and lightly grease a baking tray
2) Cream butter and icing sugar until white and creamy
3) Fold in the rest of the ingredients and mix well
4) Form a dough with your hands, place flatten dough in between 2 pieces of grease-proof paper and roll to 3mm thin with a rolling pin
5) Cut cookies into desired shapes and bake for 15-20 minutes until cookies are light brown in colour.
6) Decorate cool cookies with store-bought icing and store in air-tight cookie jars

Tip:
Using the readymade icing, pipe your friend’s or loved one’s initials on the cookies and you’ve got the perfect festive gift!

Gorgeous Cupcakes Workshop

Before...

After...

Icing designs

'Cupcake ladies'

Looking Pro...

100% concentration...

Cupcakes are such a treat to bake, but ‘dressing’ it up with pretty royal icing is even more fun.

In this workshop, I had a group of eager ladies who don't really have much baking experience, but they sure look pro in the kitchen. We started with baking the vanilla cupcakes, a simple recipe that requires very little effort and is almost fail-proof.

Once the cupcakes are in the oven, the ladies launched into serious piping mode. Royal icing is one of the easiest icing anyone can make. I tainted the snow white icing with different food colours for our cupcake artists to start their design work. We practised making mini piping bags, filled it with icing and started to pipe enthusiastically.

The kitchen became silent... The ladies were really focused on designing their cupcakes. Well, see the end results for yourself. We have flower gardens, mini mazes, green forest, dainty dots and even Bart Simpson’s hair-do! I think they all look too gorgeous or cool to eat.

Another blissful baking session... ;)

No Baking Please?...

No Baking Please.... is a workshop designed for chocolate dessert lovers who doesn’t own an oven, whisk or an apron. There aren’t any serious baking skills required in this class, however a strong will to resist licking whisk or spoons is probably an advantage.

The 3 recipes- Rich chocolate mousse, Dark chocolate cups and caramel crunch are very simple, fast to make and most importantly ‘fail-proof’. These delightful treats are low in sugar but still pack a strong chocolaty kick as 70% dark chocolate is one of the key ingredient. The caramel crunch is a simple 2 ingredients recipe which gives any cake/dessert a classy designer look.

I had a bunch of bubbly gals in this workshop. My dear sister, Meiru and her best pals were some of the participants. Meiru is somewhat clueless about baking as my mum can only ‘tolerate’ one serious baker in her tiny kitchen. I finally had a chance to bake with little sister! It’s really enjoyable to bake with people you love.

I must say i was pretty surprised when Meiru and her pals were attentive and serious in the kitchen (i had expected lots of ‘giggling’ and blur blunders). Eventhough there were some active spoon lickers in the class, they did a great job and the desserts turned out looking real fine.

We even extra time to enjoy the rich chocolate mousse with a pot of camomile tea while waiting for the chocolate crunch cups to set in the fridge. I felt a sense of achievement after seeing the gals leave with more confidence on baking. My duty of nurturing budding bakers is definitely a success in this workshop!

Ps: It’s probably not ‘ethical’ for any teacher chef to comment on their student’s aprons, but I just can’t help it this time...

The “Most Daring Apron Award” goes to Ms Jiang Meiru. The “Most Original Apron Award” goes to Miss Tan (name deliberately changed to protect identity) for wearing her maid’s unwashed apron.